Overlong Coach Body for Railway Vehicles and Train Set Composed of Such Coach Bodies

ABSTRACT

A coach body for a multiple-unit railway vehicle is provided. The coach body includes two bogies at each end. The coach body has a length of at least 27.5 m and side walls of the coach body are designed such that, a maximum outside width in the longitudinal center of the coach being 2.86 m at the height of seat rests, an inside width of at least 2.6 m is achieved for the greatest part of the coach length.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to a coach body for a multiple-unit railwayvehicle having two bogies at each end and to a train set composed ofsuch coach bodies.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

In the development of multiple-unit railway vehicles, in particular alsotrain sets, maximizing an available area for seats as well as forpassenger comfort is to the fore. For the example of a so-called “TSItrain” with a length of approximately 200 m, up to now either coachbodies with a length of approximately 25 m have been used, which meansthat said train could be composed of eight such coach bodies, or thetrain has been realized as an eleven-unit articulated train with coachbodies with an approximate length of 17.5 m.

It is generally assumed in the development of coach bodies that anincrease in the length of the coach body beyond approximately 25 minvolves a marked increase in difficulties in maintaining stipulatedclearance profiles in conjunction with appropriate inside widths. Thisis why realizing coach bodies with lengths in excess of approximately27.1 m has, up to now, been disregarded.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a coach body where a largeruseful area is made available, in particular in the case of TSI highspeed trains, along with a train composed of such coach bodies.

With regard to the coach body, this object is achieved by a coach bodyfor a multiple-unit railway vehicle having two bogies at each end, thecoach body having a length of at least 27.5 m and side walls of thecoach body being developed such that, with a maximum outside width inthe center of the coach of 2.86 m at the height of the seat arms, aninside width of at least 2.6 m is achieved for the greatest part of thecoach length (in excess of 50%, preferably in excess of 80%).

By the coach body having a length of at least 27.5 m, it is possible toassemble, in particular, a TSI high speed train from seven coach bodies,such that overall a train with a length of approximately 200 m iscreated. This means that, compared to the prior art, one coach body andconsequently one coach-to-coach connection is omitted, such thatavailable area advantages within the order of magnitude of approximately5% can be produced.

One particular challenge is nevertheless to achieve appropriate insidewidths whilst taking into account the profile stipulated in accordancewith UIC leaflet 505-1. The extending of the coach body results, withcorresponding enlargement of the bogie distance between centers, in areduction in the maximum outside width in the longitudinal center of thecoach to less than 2.86 m, preferably 2.852 m. To achieve good interiorcomfort, in particular with 2+2 seating, a minimum inside width at theheight of the arm rests of between 2.600 and 2650 mm must be obtained.In order to realize this, it is advantageous to use a side wallconstruction that is optimized at least at the height of the seat armrest with reference to the thickness and the contour and is less than150 mm, preferably less than 100 mm, and nevertheless complies with allcharacteristics for coach body strength, heat insulation, airconditioning, etc.

One feature of such a side wall construction can be in a bowedrealization of the outside contour. This has the advantage that astipulated clearance profile can be utilized in an optimum manner. Inparticular, a degree of comfort necessary for the passengers can also beachieved at the height of the arm rests of passenger seats. However,even with planar side walls, it is possible to provide the concept witha slightly reduced inside width.

A further feature can be an optimized inside contour. The inside surfaceof the side wall, in this case, is drawn in (hollowed out) at the heightof the arm rests and just above and consequently additional space forthe arms of the passengers is created at the relevant height region.

With regard to the optimum utilization of the profile stipulated byguideline UIC505-1, indentations are usefully realized in the region ofthe end of the coach, that is to say the side walls to the end walls aredrawn towards the coach interior. These are realized such that wheredoors are present they only begin at the door pillar.

The abovementioned object with regard to the multiple-unit railwayvehicle is achieved in that each coach of the railway vehicle isrealized in accordance with a coach body of the aforedescribed type. Toassemble a TSI 200 m train for high speed purposes, it is advantageousfor the railway vehicle to comprise seven coach bodies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below withreference to the drawings, in which, in detail:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a coach body for a railwayvehicle and

FIG. 2 shows a schematically graphic representation of an admissiblehalf coach body width as a function of a location along a longitudinalaxis of a coach body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

As can be seen in FIG. 1, a coach body W includes side walls SR and SLthat in this case are bowed for a railway vehicle. In this case, amaximum coach body width is approximately at the height of mill rests Athat belong to passenger seats F.

The bowed design of the side walls SR, SL ensures that a profilestipulated in accordance with guideline UIC505-1 can be utilized in anoptimum manner. A planar side wall contour that could be proposed as analternative would be linked to a further reduced wall thickness.

The graphic representation in FIG. 2 shows (top line) an admissible halfwidth of the coach body W in FIG. 1 as a function of a location along alongitudinal axis of a coach. In this case, a zero point is establishedthrough the center of one of the bogies. In FIG. 2, the outline of thecoach body W is represented by the punctuated line and the position ofthe center of the bogies by the dot-dash line. As a reference, a coachbody with a width of 2.85 m is shown in FIG. 2 in the form of arectangle. This width is maintained over almost the entire length of thecoach body. At the coach ends, the side wall SR extends inward in thedirection of associated end sides in order to ensure maintaining theprofile boundary line. In other words: In the region of overhangs, i.e.those parts of the coach body that protrude beyond the running gear, theside wall SR extends inward at an angle.

FIG. 2 also shows the position of door regions TV, TH. These are in theregion of the overhangs, i.e. the side walls SR, SL extend at an anglehere. Entrance doors of the coach body W are located in the door regionsTH, TV.

The individual coach bodies W are provided with couplings andcoach-to-coach connections that have been lengthened compared to thoseof a shorter standard coach in order to cope with the greater transversemovements caused on account of the larger coach body overhangs.

As the coach body W is narrower compared to known coach bodies, it seemssensible to overcome a gap between the coach body W and a platform bymeans of a retractable step (or a folding step). Said retractable stepshould have an extendable width of approximately 0.25 m and is able toavoid a collision with the platform by means of sensor technology. Forthe dimension of the retractable step, the appropriate specification canbe found in “TSI PRM” and standard “UIC505”.

The coach body W explained by way of FIGS. 1 and 2 includes thefollowing characteristic data: coach length: 27.95 m; bogie distancebetween centers: 19.5 m.

A TSI high speed train can be formed from the coach body W realized inthis manner, seven such coach bodies W being assembled to form onetrain. Characteristics of such a train are: coach-to-coach connectionlength: 0.8 m; number of coach-to-coach connections: 6; aerodynamicelongation of head carriage: 0.775 m; number of elongations: 2. Thisproduces an overall length of 202 m.

The thickness of the side walls SR, SL at the height of the arm rests(A) is less than 100 mm. The thickness of the side walls SR, SL in theregion lying above and below this can be greater. Depending on measurestaken elsewhere, it can also be sufficient for the side wall thicknessat the height of the arm rests A to be less than 150 mm.

In the exemplary embodiment represented, the maximum outside width ofthe coach body in the longitudinal center of the coach is 2.852 m. Allin all, it is advantageous for maintaining the abovementioned standardif the coach body width does not exceed the value of 2.86 m.

The coach body (W) designed in this manner ensures an inside width of atleast 2600 mm, it also being possible for the value of 2650 mm to beexceeded.

1. A coach body for a multiple-unit railway vehicle, comprising: twobogies at each end, wherein the coach body has a length of at least 27.5m, wherein a maximum outside width in a longitudinal center of the coachis 2.86 m, and wherein side walls of the coach body are designed suchthat an inside width of at least 2.6 m is achieved for the greatest partof the coach length at a height of seat arm rests.
 2. The coach body asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a thickness of the side walls at the heightof the seat arm rests is less that 150 mm.
 3. The coach body as claimedin claim 2, wherein the thickness of the side walls at the height of theseat arm rests is less than 100 mm.
 4. The coach body as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the side walls in door regions are drawn in towards theend of the coach.
 5. The coach body as claimed in claim 1, wherein theside walls are bowed.
 6. The coach body as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe side walls are drawn in on an inside at the height of the arm restssuch that a width of the coach interior is greater than in the region ofthe side walls of the coach body lying below and above the region. 7.The coach body as claimed in claim 1, wherein door regions are providedwith retractable steps.
 8. A multiple-unit railway vehicle, comprising:a plurality of coach bodies, each coach body being designed as claimedin claim
 1. 9. The multiple-unit railway vehicle as claimed in claim ,wherein said railway vehicle comprises seven coach bodies.